Former champion Mark Allen was not happy with his performance despite reaching the last 16 of the 2024 UK Championship on Sunday in York.
The Northern Irishman played nowhere near his capability and made just one contribution above 50 against qualifier Jackson Page.
But Allen dug deep by winning four out of the last five frames to progress with a 6-4 defeat of the young Welshman.
The Pistol went all the way to glory at the Barbican Centre in 2022, so this week he is defending the £250,000 in ranking points that he earned from that success.
It has been a patchy 2024/25 season overall so far with not many appearances at the latter stages of events.
Allen began the campaign as the sport’s world number one, but he is down to sixth on the provisional list so could do with rediscovering his best form this week.
“There’s no excuse for how bad I played out there – that was awful,” a deflated Mark Allen said in the Eurosport studio.
“You have to just try and think positive things. I was doing that but nothing was really working. I was thinking of winning here two years ago.”
“I was thinking of good clearances I’ve made here in this venue. You just have to try your best on every shot, that’s all you can do.
“There just weren’t many good shots in there today.
“For me, it’s not about the balls I miss. It’s about how far I miss them sometimes, because I feel like I apply myself in the standing position.
“I pick my line, get down, and commit. But it just goes nowhere near where you think. It’s not a nice feeling.
“I feel like I’m working really hard, but I feel like I’m a million miles away from playing good snooker at the moment.
“It’s much better going back to 32 and two tables [at the venue stages], 100%. They’ve done a great job changing this tournament around.
“But you can’t really enjoy that type of match. It wasn’t a lot of fun – turning balls down that I just didn’t fancy potting and just waiting for a better opportunity.
“I feel like I probably dragged Jackson down a little bit, but ultimately I’m in the next round. That’s the only positive I can take out of today.”
Next up for Mark Allen at the 2024 UK Championship is Wu Yize, who also won 6-4 on day two in York.
The English Open finalist didn’t score heavily either but managed to emerge from an all-Chinese clash with Si Jiahui as the winner.
Elsewhere, Jack Lisowski produced his finest display in recent times after fighting his way back from behind to beat former UK champion Mark Selby.
The latter appeared to be in cruise control when he made quick-fire breaks of 119, 59, and 136 to orchestrate an early 3-0 advantage.
But Lisowski restored parity with runs of 55, 63, and 100, and even though he briefly went behind again, the 33 year-old reeled off the concluding three frames for victory.
It will be a morale-boosting glory for a player many regard as the best to have never won a ranking event on the World Snooker Tour.
But Lisowski has often struggled to back up one impressive performance with another, so his consistency will be put to the test again in his upcoming fixture.
Ali Carter will be Lisowski’s next challenge after the Captain held off Ryan Day with another 6-4 triumph.
There are four more first-round ties on Monday, with world champion Kyren Wilson entering the fray against Stephen Maguire.
Chris Wakelin is a top 16 seed for the first time in his career, meanwhile, and his reward is a meeting with Matthew Selt.
Later on day three, Luca Brecel will look to turn around his desperate form when he faces Jak Jones, while Gary Wilson entertains Michael Holt.
2024 UK Championship draw and schedule
Round 1 (bo11)
Ronnie O’Sullivan 4-6 Barry Hawkins
Xiao Guodong 4-6 David Gilbert
Shaun Murphy 6-5 Zhao Xintong
Ding Junhui 6-5 Robert Milkins
Mark Selby 4-6 Jack Lisowski
Ali Carter 6-4 Ryan Day
Si Jiahui 4-6 Wu Yize
Mark Allen 6-4 Jackson Page
Judd Trump 6-3 Neil Robertson
John Higgins 6-0 He Guoqiang
Zhang Anda 6-3 Lei Peifan
Mark Williams 5-6 Stuart Bingham
Luca Brecel 5-6 Jak Jones
Gary Wilson 1-6 Michael Holt
Chris Wakelin 6-4 Matthew Selt
Kyren Wilson 6-0 Stephen Maguire
Round 2 (bo11)
Barry Hawkins 6-5 David Gilbert
Shaun Murphy 6-5 Ding Junhui
Jack Lisowski 6-4 Ali Carter
Wu Yize 4-6 Mark Allen
Judd Trump 6-5 John Higgins
Zhang Anda 6-5 Stuart Bingham
Jak Jones 5-6 Michael Holt
Chris Wakelin 2-6 Kyren Wilson
Quarter-Finals (bo11)
Barry Hawkins 6-2 Shaun Murphy
Jack Lisowski 3-6 Mark Allen
Judd Trump 6-2 Zhang Anda
Michael Holt 3-6 Kyren Wilson
Semi-Finals (bo11)
Barry Hawkins 6-5 Mark Allen
Judd Trump 6-2 Kyren Wilson
Final (bo19)
Barry Hawkins 8-10 Judd Trump
Featured photo credit: WST
Si/Wu was an anti-climax in terms of quality.
Ryan Day hasn’t beaten Ali Carter since 2008.